sunrise in the west
by Wintry Leen
Summary: Theirs is a beginning which has no ending. Inspired by Chapter 699. SasuSaku. #20
1. Sasuke

**A/n:** I can't believe our ship is _more than _canon. I just can't. This is my take on Naruto 699. I'm also shamelessly plugging my first ongoing story _Until we find ourselves empty_. Also, if you want someone to talk with about Naruto 699/700 whether about ships or plot development in general, feel free to shoot me a message as I am also looking for one!

Second-person narrative. Sasuke. Because it's more powerful this way.

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><p><em>sunrise in the west<em>

You cannot not see it, but you are alive and breathing – and the pain from your broken arm mixes in with the thrill of acquiring a new chance at continuous living.

You want to laugh at yourself, to humor yourself by thinking that despite the murderous effort to obtain everything you have desired – revenge and deaths – you have not even come close to achieving them. You get what you do not deserve instead. You get friendship and peace. They are so willingly given to you, you do not even have to demand.

So you decide to finally open up your eyes to the miraculous effect of having a bond – it is meant to last. Whether you pull away or sever ties, it does not erase the fact that the bond exists, and its mere existence is enough to ground you and then break you until the pain subsides with the thought of finally achieving a peace of mind.

Then you feel her chakra. You feel her coming.

She invades you, and you recognize you are the broken and she the healer.

You choke. You never do. But when you see the woman you have hurt countless times just near you, still choosing to save you despite your knowledge of her pain being equally damaging as yours, you begin to say something.

"Sakura, I..."

You taste it in your mouth the first time, and the unfamiliarity of it all makes you choke in a good way. At least you are trying.

"Don't. I want to concentrate."

But then she tries to stop you which you could have smirked at if not for your bleeding arm and overdue weariness of yourself, of the battle which in the end did not proclaim you as the victor because you realize you never want to win anyway. There is satisfaction in admitting you have lost. It is like finally learning how to accept things.

And you are ready to admit it this time.

She says she wants to concentrate. But you know her too damn well that when she says stop, she actually means begin. You know that a beginning has always been her wish, and you give her that.

"I'm sorry."

You apologize.

"Sorry...? For what?"

You do not know for what exactly, but that does not matter because you just want to apologize for everything and hope that with one quick yet sincere apology, everything heals.

"Shaannaroo...you jerk."

When she tells you stupid, and you find her shedding tears yet again, you smile in relief because she is still Sakura, and you know that the next time she does cry, you will be there catching each drop.

You know you need healing as well. Everybody does. So you entrust it to time. You want distance for a while not because you intend to end things but because you need proximity. In order to take a step towards the one you have always distanced yourself from, you need to heal yourself first and see things for what they really are with your unclouded eyes.

You need to see the world and compare it with a world with her. That is when you will decide to return – when you find it too unbearable to continue journeying and seeing a world without her.

So you reach out and tap her forehead and give her a smile. You love that she still remembers the night she decidedly told you she was willing to leave with you. You love that shy gesture of her. You love that even after everything, she is still there – not afraid to face you.

Then you say thank you. For everything. For her care, love, pain, heart.

But this time you are not leaving her on the cold bench, alone and unconscious. You are leaving her with her eyes open because you want her to watch you walk away so that with that same pair of eyes, she can also see you returning and realize the difference.

You say thank you, not goodbye, because you will meet again. You say thank you, in advance, for waiting, because you will come back for her. You say thank you because she is now your home.

You say _thank you_ because _I love you_ pales in comparison.

**...**

(I can also upload Sakura's version of this if you want. Just notify me. ~)


	2. Sakura

**A/n:** Sorry it took a while. School. But thank you so much for the reviews and your enthusiasm to read Sakura's version. I hope I won't disappoint! Again, feel free to voice out your thoughts! Thank you. Oh, and **Matthew Uchiha**, yes I'll be sending you a PM soon haha.

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><p>Run.<p>

Run.

Run.

Your mind screams, and your feet tirelessly obey. For you cannot pant, you cannot release the breath you have been holding, you cannot stop.

It is the promptest running you have ever done and probably will ever do. You need to outrun time, and you need to make it possible. You need to get where they are quick and see if everything is meant to last because if not, then it is no use running.

When you get there, you instinctively frown at the sight of the dark pool of blood soiling the ground. You immediately attend to their needs. You generate chakra and hope that a healer like you indeed heals because you know that it may be the only thing you are good at and needed for. You heal and heal and heal, and in between that monotonous succession of healing, you hope to make everything last.

And you start to cry because those two idiots are smiling despite their battered and almost disfigured faces so for the last time – if possible – you want to cry for them.

Then he speaks –

"Sakura, I..."

You hear his voice, and you falter. It is penetrating, as usual, but no longer piercing. You cut in anyway: you are not about to give him the chance to cut you this time.

(The truth of the matter is you have always waited for him to call you Sakura again.)

"Don't. I want to concentrate..."

You do not want to lose your concentration, you reason, but concentrating in his presence is never concentration anyway. It is nothing but pretension: of being fine, of not caring so much, of being strong enough. You cannot afford to let him think you are being weak yet again. You can only afford to break once or twice or –

"I'm sorry..."

But he continues anyway, and it hits you hard that you have not the power to stop him the same way you never are able to stop what you feel.

"Sorry...? For what?"

You automatically ask what for not because you have a list of the many sins he should atone for but because you never really see him as a sinner. To you, he will always be the Sasuke-kun who only needs love and saving which you are always willing to give – you do not just offer – if only he can accept – he does not even need to demand.

"For everything up until now."

And you realize he means to accept everything, and this is his way of beginning.

"Shaannaroo...you jerk."

You call him stupid, and you let the tears flow because you are Sakura, and you can finally drop all pretensions.

You know your limitation as a healer so when he decides to leave Konoha and see the world, you do not ask him why. You only ask him if he will be leaving already despite Tsunade's almost completion of his prosthetic arm, yet even then, what you really want to ask is if he will be returning.

Before you know it, you start to allude to that fateful night when despite your willful decision to go with him, he still chose to leave you. Perhaps it is because a part of you really wants to go with him despite your full understanding of his need to be alone. You suddenly feel ashamed.

"I'll be seeing you."

It was a wish you never dared wishing during those nights you used to stare out the window, hoping for a falling star. But this is not a wish coming true; it is a promise. You know it is, not because you have heard it spoken but because you feel it – and you will never forget the way he smiles. He seals it with a gentle tap on your forehead, and it makes you feel beautiful because you finally realize what that large forehead is for.

Then he says thank you, and you instinctively wait. He says thank you, and you silently thank him back for not putting you to sleep this time. He says thank you, and you do not have to say he is welcome because that is an always.

He says thank you, and you perfectly hear his meaning_. _

_**...**_

_**Fin.**_

(this was way harder to write. apologies.)


End file.
